Knicks 114, Bucks 108

Knick's Record- 29-26 (6th in the East, 4 games back from the 5th seeded Hawks)

Say hello to the the, "New, New York Knicks"

It's a whole new ball game.

That's a cliche saying, but it rang true tonight for the Knicks, as newbie Carmelo Anthony led the way, along with old-timer Toney Douglas (currently the longest tenured Knick at one and a half years), to lead the Knickerbockers to victory in front of legions of fans who paid far more than face value for tickets.

In other news, with their 29th victory, the Knicks tied their win total from last season, just one game after the All-Star break.

The underachieving Bucks, at 22-35, certainly don't generate much fear, but the Knicks could have been susceptible tonight. Their new squad doesn't even have a practice under their belt. D'Antoni wasn't ever going to consider giving any of the new faces besides Melo and Billups a chance to step on the floor, since he has not yet had a chance to see them in action.

Time will tell what the rotation turns out to be; for tonight, at least, D'Antoni kept with an 8-man rotation. Against better teams he will probably have to trickle minutes elsewhere, to the likes of Shelden Williams, Corey Brewer or Anthony Carter.

Future aside, tonight is a night to celebrate the true arrival of, as Amar'e Stoudemire so boldly states, the "New, New York Knicks."

Before the trade, a Stoudemire foul-out (only two this season) would have elicited feelings of dread and despair. But there was Melo, sinking difficult shots in traffic in the fourth quarter, and helping ice the game with a pair of free throws in the waning seconds.

We all loved Gallo, but he never inspired such confidence in fans without Amar'e on the floor, particularly in big spots, where shots need to be created. Same goes for Chandler.

Billups, meanwhile, reminded those who had forgotten (or chose to ignore) that he is a complete and utter leader. His 21 points and 8 assists were Felton-like numbers; the difference is that when Felton put up such numbers, it was easy to tell throughout the game. With Billups, the stats just seemed to accumulate, and the box score leaves you thinking, "wow, when did he score 21?"

Melo struggled early, but finished strong

Studs:
Anthony- 27 points, 10 boards, 2 steals
Billups- 21 points, 8 assists, 6 boards, 2 steals (shot just 4-12 from the field, but 12-12 from the FT line)
Douglas- 23 points, 3 assists, 2 steals
Stoudemire- 19 points, 5 boards, 4 assists



Before we rejoice and hire a choir to sing "I Believe I Can Fly," let's give the Knicks a practice or two, allow Melo, Billups and the rest of the newcomers to learn D'Antoni's offense and (lack of) defense, and see what happens the rest of the way.


**Having said that, here's one quick point from this game that you can take to the bank: Having two superstars on the floor, with even just a decent supporting cast, makes it extremely difficult for defenses.

"The Knicks are back." -Amar'e Stoudemire and Carmelo Anthony